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Cape Town - South Africa’s hopes of escaping from the “Group of Death” at AFCON 2015 were hanging by a thread after a 1-1 draw with Senegal on Friday night.
Shakes Mashaba’s side turned in another decent display but the coach was again let down by their inability to capitalise on the numerous chances in front of a goal and conceding a (nother) soft goal.
Player Ratings: Bafana Bafana
1. Jackson Mabokgwane - 5
Failed to deal with Mbodji’s powerful header as he was caught in two minds in deciding whether to leave his line or not.
2. Anele Ngcongca - 6
A good but not great display by Ngcongca. Assisted Manyisa for the goal.
3. Thabo Matlaba - 6.5
A much improvewd performance from Matlaba, especially on attack, as he found himself in several good positions while he also defended well.
4. Thulani Hlatswayo - 6
Injured early on but looked steady up until that point.
5. Eric Mathoho - 6
Strong and steady for most of the match. He will be disappointed with how Mbodji got the better of him for the goal.
6. Oupa Manyisa - 6.5
Played well despite not being deployed in an unfamiliar wide role. Calm and composed strike to hand Bafana Bafana the lead.
7. Dean Furman - 7
What you see is what you get from Furman. He worked tirelessly in defence all evening and launched many of his side's attacks. South Africa’s best player on the night.
8. Andile Jali - 4
Jali’s worst performance in a very long time as he squandered possession on many occasions. He has too much quality not to bounce back against Ghana.
9. Thuso Phala - 4.5
Easily marshalled at every turn by the Senegalese defence and was withdrawn for Parker.
10. Sibusiso Vilakazi – 5
Chief culprit when it comes to not taking chances. Found himself in brilliant goal-scoring positions before wasting a number of chances.
11. Tokelo Rantie - 4.5
Rantie is not having an AFCON to remember. A poor night by his standards.
12. Ayanda Gcaba - 6
Played well after coming on for Hlatswayo and seemed calm and composed alongside Mathoho in central defence.
13. Bernard Parker - 6
Struggled to make an impact off the bench. Had one really good attempt well blocked by the Senegal defence.
14. Reneilwe Letsholonyane – Not enough time to make an impact or earn a rating.
*Follow Sport24 soccer journalist Wade Pretorius on Twitter: @wadepretorius
